Metal cask



April 24, 1934. MULLER 1,956,512

' I METAL CASK I .Fi led Sept. 15. 1932 s Sheets-Sheet 1 A ril 24, 1934. A, MULU'ER 1,956,512

METAL CASK Filed Sept. 15. 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 22 .4 14B .5 j 15 16 23 ,31 ,6 10 z I 10 I A J jnvenfor:

A. MULLER April 24, 1934.

METAL CASK s sheets -shee t 5 Filed Sept. 15. 1952 i jnzrczzio n M W W Patented A r. 24, 1934 METAL CASK. Albano Miiller, Schwelm, Germany Application September 15, 1932, Serial No. 633,336

In Germany November 7, 1931 Claims.- (01. 220-) I have filedapplications in Germany Nov. 7, 1931; Nov. 21, 1931; Nov. 27, 1931; Belgium March 3, 1932; France March 11, 1932; Italy March 8, 1932; Switzerland March '7, 1932; Austria Febr.

27, 1932; Czechoslovakia March 5, 1932; Egland March '7, 1932; Netherlands March 18, 1932; Denmark March 3, 1932; Argentina June 1, 1932; Canada May 27, 1932.

The present invention relates to improvements in metal casks having double walls, more particularly casks of this kind for the transport of beer and similar liquids, the taste of which is very subject to contamination.

Hitherto metal casks have only been capable of replacing the ordinary wooden casks to a very small extent. Hence, it has arisen that a large number of demands are placed on wooden casks, which cannot be fulfilled by any-of the known metal casks.

In view of the arrangements for cleansing and transport already provided for wooden casks it is necessary for metal casks to correspond as far as possible in exterior shape and useful volume with ordinary wooden casks. must have the least possible weight and at the same time, must be well insulated against variations of temperature. But above all things a double-walled metal cask must permit of an easy and absolutely certain cleansing and the inner cask must beso supported in the outer cask that damage of the inner cask by the considerable stresses which arise unavoidably during the transport is prevented.

The object of the present invention is to provide a double-walled metal cask which fulfils all the above requirements and ofiers an inexpensive substitute. for the usual wooden cask, whilst be ing easy and cheap to manufacture.

This object is attained according to the present 4 invention'in that on the one hand the outer cask consists of a barrel shaped shell and separately inserted bottom pieces, whilst the inner cask which is likewise barrel shaped has its bottom piece and the adjoining shell constructed in one piece and that on the other hand the mounting of the inner cask in the outer cask is effected by means of collars placed over the ends of the inner cask and fastened between the bottom pieces and the shell of the outer cask and by a hoop of bridge-shaped cross section which is arranged at the middle between the inner and outer shells.

Owing to the barrel shape of the inner and outer casks and their special mounting, the double walled cask according to the invention has a hitherto unknown power of resistance so that it -a result of the good distribution of stresses of metal on which the other edge of the slit is supported during the welding of the slit. This struction it is possible to make the separation Further the metal casks "Fig. 3 is a section through the line B--B of may be made proportionately light. Further as welding first of all under one edge of the longitudinal slit of the outer shell a projecting strip supporting strip of metal affords an exact registering of the edges of the slit whilst theyare. being welded together. By this method of con- Fig. 2 omitting the barrel wall and bung cavity,

Fig. 4 shows a second constructional form of the double walled metal cask according to the invention also partly in vertical section and partly in elevation,

Fig. 5 shows a part of a double-walled cask according to the invention in vertical section illustrating a method of connecting the two shells together,

Fig. 6 shows the same elements as Fig. 5 in elevation, and

Fig. 7 is a section through the line CC of 1'00 Fig. 6.

The metal cask according to the invention which is intended more particularly for the transport of beer, consists of inner and outer casks constructed of sheet iron or steel and barrel shaped corresponding to the known staved casks. Between the two casks is provided on all sides an intermediate space for the reception of a heat resisting material. The outer cask consists of a convex shell 4 and two bottom pieces 6' which are inserted into the ends 5 or the shell and are provided at their centres each with a recess '7' 'made by bending the material inwards, for'the reception of the label-indicating the contents. On the other hand the inner cask is made with its two bottom pieces 8 and the adjoining shell member 9 of one piece and the portion connecting the shell 9 and the bottom piecesS is well rounded off. The construction of the inner cask in this manner is rendered possible by making the shell 9 of two or more parts which are connected by circular welded seams. The inner cask is provided on its interior surface with a protect- "ing layer of enamel or the like.

Over the ends of the inner cask 9, 8 are placed two collars l0 constructed in the form of complete rings which are made of a conical shape at the parts encircling the inner cask so as to conform to this and are fastened at the points 11 and 12 by soldering or welding. A separate soldering collars which lie flush with the free ends 5 and the edges of the bottom pieces 13 are connected to these by means of a common welded joint 14.

For the purpose of strengthening the supporting rings which are formed by the collars 10, the edges 5 of the outer shell and the bent over ends of the bottom pieces 13, outer and inner bulbed hoops 15 and 16 are placed thereon, these hoops serving simultaneously for facilitating the handling' of the cask and being connected with the supporting rings by means of the welded joint 14.

The cask is provided with two bung holes 1'7 and 18, one of which is in the upper end piece and'the other at the centre of the cask. The cavities 19 and 20 provided above the bung holes for receiving the bungs are provided at the edges of the holes of the inner cask with flanges 21, 22 which are soldered to the irmer cask with phosphor-bronze or welded thereto. The bung cavity in the bottom is provided at its outer end which projects beyond the bottom 6, with a dome shaped ring 23 which is fixed to the bottom 6, whilst the bung .cavity 20 at the middle of the cask is re- ,cessed with respect to the shell 4 of the outer cask andhas its outer edge fixed to the inwardly inclined rim of the hole 24 in the outer shell 4.

In order to strengthen the middle of the outer shell 4 which is highly stressed during rolling of the cask, and simultaneously to save the end connections 14, a supporting ring 25 of bridge shaped cross section is arranged at the crown between the inner and outer casks. This ring has .its crown 26 in contact with the shell 4 of the outer cask, whilst flanges 2'7 provided on the free ends r of its legs are fastened to the shell 9 of the inner cask.

In the constructional example. according to Figs. 1 to 3, the supporting ring or hoop 25 narrower than the bung cavity 20 and is divided at this point, its two free ends being joined by means of a plate 28 fixed to the inner side of the outer shell 4. Thisplate 28 has two longitudinal ribs'29 running in the direction of the circumference of the cask and formed by folding of the plate. These ribs serve for strengthening the inwardly turned rim 24 of the hole in the outer shell 4, which is stressed very considerably during rolling of the cask. For this purpose the ribs 29 are arranged very close to the rim of the hole 24 as clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3. At the point where the strengthening plate 28 is fixed to the supporting ring 25 the crown of the latter is bent inwards to the extent of the thickness of the plate (as is shown in Fig. 3) thus providing a good contact of the plate 28 and the supporting ring 25 with the outer shell 4.

In the constructional example according to Fig. 4 the supporting ring or hoop is made of greater width than the bung cavity 20 and is continuous. The ring '25'is fastened to the shell 9 of the inner cask by means of flanges 2'7 provided at the free ends of its legs. The crown 26 .of the ring 25 which isslightly convex lies with its outer surface atthe same height as the inner edge 33 of the outer shell 4 which is composed of two parts, and the edges 33 of this shell arefixed in grooves 32 in the surface of the crown of the ring 25. The crown 26 of this 'ring thus forms part of the outer shell of the cask. The crown 26 is provided with a suitable aperture for the bung cavity and the rim 34 of this aperture is turned inwards and engages in a recess 35 in the bung cavity 20 withwhich it is rigidly connected at this point by welding.

This construction of the supporting ring has the advantage-that it is not divided at the bung holes and consequently'does' not require. a sepainwardly curved portion 34 provided forthe bung hole, so that the rolling of the cask would not take place on the centre of the crown but on the edges at the same height as the bung hole. This would provide a completely uniform rolling of the would further be relieved of stress.

In order to protect the contents of the inner cask against loss of heat the whole space between the two casks is filled with a heat resisting material, which, however, for the sake of clarity cask, whilst the-members forming the bung hole has not been shown in the drawings between the 1 two cask shells 4 and 9. The insulating layer between the bottom pieces 6, 8 of the two casks consists of asbestos plates 30. However, in order to minimize loss of heat arising by radiation as well as by conduction, the inner surface of the outer shell and the outer surface of the inner shell are provided with a polished layer of tin foil. Such a layer of tin foil is very eflicient whilst being extre'melycheap and capable of attachment to the metal walls easily and: securely simply by a In order to be able to place the barrel shaped outer shell 4 over' the completed inner cask quite independently. of the degree of curvature of the shell 9 of the inner cask and the separation oi the two casks from one another, the shell ofthe outer jcaskis slit longitudinally, as shown Figs.-

5 .to '7. and is sealed aftervbeing placed over the inner cask. This sealing is efiected by fixing first of all under the one edge 40 of the slit'in the=shell 4 by welding at'the point 43, a metal strip 42 in such a mannerthat half of it projects beyond the edge 40 of the slit. The other edge 41 of the slit in the outer shell is then supported on the projecting portion of the metal strip and may be brought close to the edge 40 of the slit with which it is joined firmly by means of a welded seam 44.. The metal strip 42 supports the free edge 41 of the slit and ensures an exact registering of the two edges 40, 41, of the slit during The sealing of the outer shell welding together. 4 is preferably carried out before its ends 5 are joined to the bottom pieces 6 and the collars 10 of the inner cask. It will, of course, be understood that instead of the metal strip several smaller pieces of metal separated from one another and distributed along the length of the slit in the shell, could be employed. Also the parts could be connected with one another by soldering instead of welding. V

In the construction according to Figs. 5 to '7, the outwardly bent edges 13 of the bottom pieces 6 of the outer cask, the cylindrical ends -5 of the otherwise barrel shaped outer shell 4 and the collars 10 projecting between them are not connected together by a common welded joint as in the construction according to Figures 1 to 4, but are held together by being folded over outwards. The

folding is made in such a manner that the edges 13 of the bottom pieces'lie on the outside and enclose the ends of the outer shell 4 and the collars 10. The barrel shaped inner cask 8, 9 is thus held in the conical ends of the collars 10 which encircle it without any Special fixing.

It will, of course, be understood that the invention is not restricted to the constructions illustrated in the drawings and that the details may be modified without departing from the scope of the invention.

Having now particularw described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declaire that what I claim is:-

1. Double-walled metal cask in which the outer cask consists of a barrel-shaped shell and separate bottom pieces inserted therein, while the bottom elements and adjacent parts of the likewise barrel-shaped inner cask are made of one piece of material, characterized in that the inner cask is suspended and supported in the outer cask by means of collars embracing the endsvof the inner caskand fastened between the bottom pieces and. the shell of theouter cask and also by means of an U-shaped supporting ring arranged in the middle between the inner and outer shells, the supporting ring being provided with flanges for attachment of the ring to the wall of the inner cask.

2. The caskofclaim' 1 further characterized in that the. supporting ring is divided at one portion for the formation of a bung-hole and is bridged by means of a reenforcing plate provided with ribs close to the edge of the bung-hole of the 'outer shell.-

3. The cask of claim 1 further characterized by having a bung-hole in the middle of the cask and by having the supporting ring of greater width than the bung-hole and of continuous formation about the entire circumference of the cask.

4. The cask of claim 1 further characterized in that the outer periphery of the supporting ring is utilized for the formation of the outer shell in that the outer shell is divided at the supporting ring and fastened. with its adjacent edges in grooves formed in the outer periphery of said supporting ring.

5. The cask of claim 1 having a bung-hole formed in the supporting ring and an aperture formed in the outer cask registering with said bung-hole, said cask being further characterized in that the outer shell is formed of two end portions having their adjacent edges seated in grooves in the supporting ring and having said adjacent edges inclined inwardly in the bung-hole portion of said ring.

6. The cask of claim 1 characterized in that the proximate surfaces of the inner and outer shells are provided with a highly polished coating.

7. The cask of claim 1 further characterized in that the outer shell -is provided with a longitudinalslit which is sealed after said outer shell has been slipped over the inner shell. 8. The cask of claim l further characterized in that the outer shell is provided with a'longitudinal slit which is sealed after the outer shell has been slipped over the inner shell and that a metal strip is placed beneath the longitudinal joint of the outer shell, which metal strip prior to the sealing of the joint is fixed to one of the longitudinal edges of the outer shell and thereby held in position.

9; In a double-wall cask, an inner shell having heads and a side, said inner shell being of barrellike form, a flange ring fitted tightly on each end of said inner shell and projecting beyond the head thereof, an outer shell ofbarrel-like form having a reenforci'ng ring of channel shape located intermediate said heads and having outwardly directed feet secured to the inner shell and a web to which the outer shell is secured.

10. In' a double-wall cask, an inner shell having heads, and a side, said inner shell being of barrel-like form; a flange ring fitted tightly on each end of said inner shell and projecting beyond the head thereof, an outer shell of barrellike form having-its portions fitting against the outer surfaces of said rings at the top and bottom of the barrel, means to secure the outer shell to .said rings, outer heads each having a peripheral flange fitting against the inner face of a respective ring and held thereto by said means, and a reenforcing ring of channel shape located intermediate said heads and having outwardly directed feet secured to the inner shell and a web 

